


Bumpy Road

by honestgrins



Series: Challenge Accepted [8]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 06:58:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5575713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 8 - Favorite Quote: This is inspired by 417's "Well, you showed me." I kind of cheated, but this is a human Klaus and Caroline showing each other up through the years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bumpy Road

_Age 10_

Caroline was waiting for him after school, not wanting to walk home without him.

The teacher holding him late had expected his parents to pick him up, needing to explain why he was being punished. When they still hadn't taken the phone call to even come to the school, Ms. Evans finally released him. The sympathetic grimace didn't go unnoticed, but Klaus just shrugged off her comforting gestures. He knew his parents wouldn't come, just as he knew that Caroline would stay.

He found her kicking her pink tennis shoes and playing with her hair out on the steps. Sneaking up behind her, he poked her shoulder and yelled "boo" as she turned her head.

Caroline shrieked, standing up to get away from the threat, only to find Klaus hunched over and laughing. "It's not funny," she cried angrily. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," he said, still struggling to catch his breath from laughing so hard.

"Then stop laughing," she demanded, stomping her little foot.

He just grinned instead, making his way down the steps so they could leave.

"How bad was it," she asked, already forgetting their little tiff in favor of making sure her friend was okay. "I was sitting here forever."

"She let me go with a warning," Klaus answered quietly. "My parents never bothered to take the call, and I guess she felt sorry for me."

"She's never met your parents," Caroline scoffed lightly, despite the fact she knew it hurt Klaus more than he let on. "But they'll be mad if you go around hitting Damon again."

"He was calling you names," Klaus defended himself.

Caroline just rolled her eyes as they walked toward the Mikaelson house. "But you're the one who got in trouble for punching him. Damon Salvatore isn't worth missing out on after-school snacks. You know Kol ate them all already," she pointed out. The Mikaelsons let Caroline tag along with them until Liz could pick her up, and Elijah always made them the best snacks.

"No, Rebekah would save a plate," Klaus crowed.

"I don't believe you," Caroline said, narrowing her eyes. Rebekah loved Klaus, sure. She had even wanted to wait with Caroline until Elijah all but carried her away. "I'll bet she's too mad at Elijah for not letting her stay with me that she's still crying in her room."

"Fine," Klaus nodded. "But if I win, you don't get to share any of the snack she left for us."

"What do I get?" She didn't like bets without rewards, especially since she had learned the hard way that Mikaelsons always collect.

Klaus pursed his lips, thinking about it. "If you win, I'll let you have the remote all afternoon," he decided, rather reluctantly. With Caroline, that often meant cooking shows and Spongebob.

Confident in her guess and excited for the winnings, Caroline offered her hand. "Deal."

That confidence dwindled fast upon finding Rebekah sitting happily with Kol and playing board games when they reached the house. Klaus triumphantly pulled out his plate of food, and proceeded to slowly eat the peanut butter celery sticks in front of Caroline.

Moving quickly, though, she snatched the last one and ate it just as triumphantly.

"Well," Klaus sighed. "You showed me."

_Age 13_

Klaus didn't want to play. He was bored of the party and really wanted to ask Caroline if they could just sit outside and wait for her mom to pick them up. But, she was having fun, so he never asked.

And then Damon decided to play Spin the Bottle.

It's not that he didn't want to kiss anybody. He and Caroline had gotten that pesky "first kiss" out of the way a year ago, just to see what all the fuss was about. Kissing wasn't a problem for him; Caroline kissing other people was.

It just felt wrong, somehow, to watch her eyes glitter with excitement over a kissing game with a room full of other people.

So, when Damon's spin landed on her, he swallowed his distaste and averted his eyes as best he could. When his turn came, he quickly latched onto Elena's lips and tried to think of nothing (and no one) else. Pulling away, he couldn't help a smile at getting through the game without punching Damon.

An odd look of hurt had replaced the gleam in Caroline's eyes, and Klaus didn't feel so good anymore.

_Age 16_

Caroline wasn't sure how to tell him. He couldn't have been surprised, she had been dating Damon for almost a year by that point. But something held her back from telling Klaus that she finally slept with her boyfriend.

It hadn't been bad, but it wasn't all she had hoped it would be, either. Damon had promptly rolled off of her and left, not all all the romantic cuddle session she had been expecting in the afterglow. She had wanted to call Klaus, needing her best friend to help her put everything into perspective. Unable to bring herself to actually call him, though, she called Bonnie instead.

But she couldn't keep it from Klaus forever.

She had taken the day to process the event, with every intention of catching Klaus at school the next day. Instead, she heard about a major fight happening in the boys' locker room, only for Klaus and Damon to be pulled out by separate coaches. They both sported scrapes and bruises, but Damon was definitely worse for the wear.

As much as she wanted to go to Klaus, Damon's murderous glare told her that Klaus was the instigator. She felt obligated to check on Damon first, which led Klaus to storming away.

"He went nuts on me," Damon explained, playing up his role as the victim. "I have no idea what set him off, but you know he's never liked me."

Caroline couldn't deny that, but she had a foreboding feeling that her boyfriend wasn't telling the whole story. Her concern was confirmed when Stefan pulled her aside later. Embarrassed, he explained that Damon was boasting about taking her virginity and how those cheerleader skills came in handy. Klaus had punched him before he could continue. Thanking Stefan with what little dignity she still felt, Caroline immediately left to break up with Damon on his sickbed.

Not wanting to go back to school, she made for the Mikaelson home instead. She knew Klaus had also skipped out after the fight, and she needed to clear the air with him.

Long since giving up the need to knock, Caroline let herself in. "Klaus," she called, checking the TV room and the kitchen before heading up the stairs. "I'm so sorry about Damon, I had no idea-"

Her apology dies off as soon as she approached his door, the noises coming through not even slightly hidden by the pounding bass of sultry music. She quickly turned to leave, not wanting to see who else was in his bed.

No one caught her at the house, thankfully, though Hayley hanging off of Klaus's arm the next day still gave her the information she didn't want to know. The whole situation was made worse by Klaus completely ignoring Caroline the rest of the week.

Rebekah and Kol took it upon themselves to rectify the relationship, and soon Caroline and Klaus were back to good terms. Something had decidedly changed, however, since they both realized they hated seeing each other with other people. Nothing would be the same after that.

_Age 21_

Caroline's 21st birthday was supposed to be all fun, drinks and karaoke. She was so nervous about Klaus visiting for the occasion, though, that she wasn't able to eat anything all day. Caroline's impressive ability to hold her liquor quickly disappeared without any food in her stomach.

Klaus had been in Europe for over a year, searching for his artistic spirit. He only came back to the States to celebrate Caroline's birthday, and instead, he had to hold back her hair as she puked in the alley.

He rubbed her back gently, soothing her choked sobs as best he could. "You're all right, love," he murmured. "Let it out."

"Look at you," she said, still drunk. "Taking care of me like you haven't since high school."

"I'll always take care of you," he promised softly, smiling at her small pout.

Caroline shook her head. "You ran away to Europe, that's not taking care of me," she said. "That hurt me. You kissed me, then you ran away."

Klaus went quiet, not sure what to say while she was still inebriated. He didn't want to confess his terror at falling completely in love with his best friend at all, let alone a second time when she was sober. "To be fair," he coughed, "I had already planned to leave before I kissed you." What's the point of a bon voyage party if you can't do what scares you the most?

"Why bother," she huffed, shakily standing up to her full height and ignoring his steady hand at her waist. "You were just going to forget me once you met all those foreign women."

Stifling a laugh, Klaus just pulled her in close. "Let's get you home, sweetheart, we can talk in the morning."

"Will you still be there," she asked, tucked into him as he lead her to a waiting cab.

"I promise," he said.

"I don't believe you," she sighed.

When she woke up with a raging hangover and mortifying memories, Caroline was surprised to find a smug Klaus waiting for her to wake, aspirin and a glass of orange juice in hand.

_Age 25_

It was no surprise to Klaus that Caroline was incredibly picky. He often won brownie points for knowing her well enough to avoid petty fights, but he also received punishments (of a sort) when he misjudged her expectations.

That made the ring in his pocket a dangerous gamble.

They were ready for that next step, he had no qualms about marrying Caroline. Already living together and managing finances had helped him adapt to the idea, and he knew she was waiting for "happily ever after." All that was led to propose was the ring. He took Bonnie and Rebekah with him for their opinions, but he was adamant on choosing the ring himself.

But the moment had arrived, and Caroline would be able to judge for herself.

They were relaxed in their living room, just chatting quietly about their days when he felt the urge to finally propose. He couldn't imagine having another perfect moment with her when she wasn't officially his. He wanted to ask, but he still wasn't sure about the ring.

"We've spoken about getting married, right," he asked nonchalantly, trying not to smile at the way she immediately perked up.

"Don't act like I don't have a wedding half-planned," she scoffed lightly, eyes glittering with expectation. "Why do you ask?"

Klaus shrugged. "I'm just trying to remember your taste in rings, and I can't for the life of me remember if you wanted a bunch of round cut diamonds or a giant square set in a gold band."

Caroline froze, obviously trying not to grimace. "I actually don't like any of those things," she replied, quickly feeling the need to cover. "Not like you've already bought one like that, right?"

Klaus looked over, sheepish. "Right, Klaus," she persisted, worried that her wonderful boyfriend was accidentally a dunce fiancé who picked an ugly ring for her to wear for all eternity.

"If I were to go shopping this week, then, what would you suggest," he asked, smirk deepening.

"Are you really asking or just looking to mock me," she asked playfully.

"I'm really asking," Klaus answered more seriously.

Smiling at his intent, Caroline gave into his prying. "I like how oval cuts fit on my finger, always platinum or white gold, and the band should have some sort of detailing that's not diamonds, like-"

She had been about to reach for her laptop when Klaus distracted her, kneeling in front of her. Without a word, he pulled a box from his pocket and presented her with a ring exactly like she had described.

Staring at the ring, mouth open in shock, all Caroline could manage was a small squeak.

"Caroline Forbes," Klaus said, voice trembling with emotion. "I love you, and I want to keep building a life with you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Leaning forward, Caroline bypassed the ring entirely to pepper him with kisses. "Yes," she cried, continuing her amorous assault.

It wasn't until they were cuddled on the couch much later and looking at the ring on her finger that she brought the subject up again. "What if I hadn't liked the ring," she asked curiously, silently daring him to try to take it back.

"I would keep looking to find the right one," he answered, laying a kiss to her temple. "However long it takes."


End file.
